REVA Combats Electric Vehicle Range Anxiety (Video)

From REVA's multi-million dollar expansion to its state-of-the-art Indian electric car factory, REVA India is definitely stepping up its game when it comes to serious electric vehicle manufacture. But when I wrote about the launch of REVA's NXR and NXG cars at Frankfurt, the technical illiterate in me questioned their new "Revive" program - a system that promises a limited remote recharge via text message to get you home if your charge runs short. Now the company is revealing more - and it looks pretty neat. As I had assumed - the system is not exactly "remote recharging" - but rather a system that allows REVA to approve access to a "secret" reserve in your battery bank. I had wondered why the consumer can't be given that access directly - and whether this remote recharge was just a gimmick - but I should have known better. (Although I am glad to see that Autoblog Green were equally mystified!)

An anonymous commenter pointed out that the system was most likely based on allowing "access to go below the recommended discharge level. OK to do, but not too often, hence REVA keeps a policing eye on it." And it looks like our commenter was right - REVA have now release a video revealing a little more about how their system provides peace of mind for the occasional rundown of the charge, while not affecting your battery's overall lifespan - at least according to the YouTube blurb that accompanies this video. No more details on the system yet at REVA's website - but we'll keep an eye out.